ITV Emmerdale fans ‘confused’ as soap undergoes format change for special episode

Emmerdale fans were left confused as the soap aired a special episode.

The ITV soap aired a special dinner party episode this evening where Tom King and Belle Dingle’s relationship and Rhona Ghoskirk and Marlon Dingle’s relationship was under the spotlight. Tom has been coercively controlling Belle, and tonight it turned to horrific physical abuse, leaving fans devastated for poor Belle.

Elsewhere, a fight broke out between Rhona and Marlon, as their relationship continues to suffer under the pressure of the court case with Gus. Rhona and Marlon had a huge argument, with it ending in a swift exit for the all the couples.

That left Belle and Tom alone, where he confronted her about lying about her contraception tablets and launched into an angry tirade, which tragically ended in physical abuse, as Belle was left devastated by his actions.

Watching the episode, fans took to social media to share their thoughts on the harrowing scenes. One wrote: “hold on help i tried rewinding the programme because i thought it was repeating itself but forgot it’s from 2 different perspectives…. very confusing #Emmerdale,” whilst a second added: “What’s happening to #emmerdale? Have I missed something ? I thought @ITV replayed it from the start for a minute there. I’m confused..” A third shared: “Just say the same dialogue twice that’s how you spread an episode out.”

Speaking about the special episode, Emmerdale Producer Laura Shaw explained: “The dinner party episode puts a sharp lens on the relationships of the gathered people and gives the audience a unique view into their lives.

“Stepping away from the usual Emmerdale format, it offers our viewers the chance to see how some relationships like Rhona and Marlon’s can very publicly unravel and fall apart, whereas other relationships, like Tom and Belle’s, can present in public as perfect and behind closed doors tell a very different, much darker story.”

In the shock scenes, Rhona and Marlon seemingly call off their relationship in front of the stunned guests.

“He’s horrible to her and she’s horrible to him as well. They’re both kind of stuck in their own corner and I think they both recognise their own unreasonableness but personal pride and ego won’t let them come out of it. He said some things the day before which she brings up in front of everybody, which is embarrassing for him. It gets ugly, she gets more and more provoked, alcohol is involved and it just detonates the relationship,” Mark Charnock explains of how their argument escalates.

Zoe Henry – who plays Rhona – added: “I can honestly see both sides, I really can. Rhona is bossy, Marlon is sensitive and has a tendency to overreact, both of them have good intentions but it’s all got a bit messy and confused.”